The recent events in Las Vegas (and Orlando, and Charlotte, and Washington D.C.....) have energized discussion about what kind of crazy people are. Sociopathy and Psychopathy are often used interchangeably as they are both "Antisocial Personality Disorders" in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5)(How to Tell a Sociopath from a Psychopath - Psychology Today). Traits common to both types are: A disregard for laws and social mores A disregard for the rights of others A failure to feel remorse or guilt A tendency to display violent behavior

But there are clear distinctions between the two, and that is relevant in today's world (and for violence prevention).

Sociopaths "tend to be nervous and easily agitated. They are volatile and prone to emotional outbursts, including fits of rage." I think most of us can identify recent examples of this type of mental disorder in public spaces. "It is difficult but not impossible for sociopaths to form attachments with others. Many sociopaths are able to form an attachment to a particular individual or group, although they have no regard for society in general or its rules."

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Psychopaths, on the other hand, are unable to form emotional attachments or feel real empathy with others, although they often have disarming or even charming personalities. Psychopaths are very manipulative and can easily gain peopleís trust. They learn to mimic emotions, despite their inability to actually feel them, and will appear normal to unsuspecting people. Psychopaths are often well educated and hold steady jobs. Some are so good at manipulation and mimicry that they have families and other long-term relationships without those around them ever suspecting their true nature.

Stephen Paddock was a classic psychopath - as, apparently, was his father.

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When committing crimes, psychopaths carefully plan out every detail in advance and often have contingency plans in place. Unlike their sociopathic counterparts, psychopathic criminals are cool, calm, and meticulous. Their crimes, whether violent or non-violent, will be highly organized and generally offer few clues for authorities to pursue. Intelligent psychopaths make excellent white-collar criminals and "con artists" due to their calm and charismatic natures.

Not all psychopaths are violent, although many are criminals and politicians. (In Donald Trump's case, he displays behaviors that fit in both categories.)

_________________________A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich

Stephen Paddock was a model citizen - he never even got a speeding ticket. Stephen Paddock was not a criminal. His 49 long-guns were purchased legally. Stephen Paddock passed all background checks. He did all of the right things. All ammo and that modification to make his long-guns into a machine gun was purchased legally.

...kinda throws out the argument that only "bad guys" do "bad things."

Stephen Paddock is the NRAs worst nightmare because Stephen put an end to all of the boogie-man arguments.

If Stephen Paddock can do this heinous crime - so can another model citizen.

The only action left is to ban all high-caliber guns like Australia did in 1996.

The one and only odd (very odd) thing is that he bought a whole bunch of the same type of gun!

Hunters never do that: They want different guns and calibers and ammo, for different game.

Target shooters buy a few very specific types of long rifle but they never buy quantity. They buy quality and then spend money making their gun more accurate.

Maybe buying several assault rifles should set off an alarm somewhere, but in a lot of states you pass the background check and they throw away any record of your purchase after a few weeks. In hindsight that just seems insane.

Psychopaths are much harder to police because they are clever and manipulative. They tend to be careful. Paddock bought weapons separately from various States over a 1+ year period. That would not attract attention. He probably bought ammunition at gun shows and over the internet. 7.62 ammunition is fairly common (link), as are AK-style weapons, link (AR 10s, however, are relatively rare and expensive). Spread your purchases around, and you don't attract attention. If you spend $5-6000 on a weapon, people don't expect you're going to abuse it by rapid-firing it like that (which overheats barrels and breaks firing pins). But if it's for a "blaze of glory" ending, why would you care?

Yes, we should have a national registry, despite the unjustified paranoia it induces. Having done so would have alerted authorities to the build up. But, he could have justified his collection as, well, a collection. "I'm a collector." Especially as he was spending so much money ($100s of thousands) on it.

Sociopaths are a different story. Chances are, they've been on the radar, because they have poor planning and impulse control - and have probably been in trouble before. They are, generally, easier to spot.

Thoughtful consideration of threats and how to counter them is in order. When was the last time we got that from Congress?

_________________________A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich

Reviewing this list: A disregard for laws and social moresA disregard for the rights of othersA failure to feel remorse or guiltA tendency to display violent behavior

Doesn't that sound like the right wing of the GOP? Which, by the way, is nearly all of them.

_________________________A well reasoned argument is like a diamond: impervious to corruption and crystal clear - and infinitely rarer.

Here, as elsewhere, people are outraged at what feels like a rigged game -- an economy that won't respond, a democracy that won't listen, and a financial sector that holds all the cards. - Robert Reich